Meet... George O'Hanlon

For some, lockdown was shit, others it was their breakthrough year, but for George O'Hanlon, it was his time to shine as he offers the beautiful essence of his debut EP, The Storm.

Smouldered between the calm yet, powerful soundscapes lie deep the raw, warm emotions of a 21-year-old who's finding his identity - portrayed within the works of his four-track EP. Whilst he still treads and taps through the music scene, his latest is the perfect net to the start of his career but hints at growth for what's to come.

Whilst his shyness adds to the vulnerability of his personality, O'Hanlon has the work of magic as he captures you from the start he sings. From the experience of school choirs to the refinement of his sound over the years gone by, O'Hanlon incoming work is one to keep your eyes on.

With his EP now out and desired by many, we caught up with the rising artist on how it all started, the past year and what the future holds.

Let's get straight into it; your debut EP, The Storm, is planned to come out next week - how excited are you for people to hear your first ever project, and what can we expect?

I’m happy it’s out in the world I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It's four tunes that sum up my last three years.

Drawing onto your personal experiences and framing them from different perspectives, how did the EP start, and how would you break down the overall creative process?

The EP has been in the making for a few years, from when I wrote the first song to it being released. I don’t really have a process for writing, I get an idea in my head and, sometimes it grows quite quickly, or sometimes it bugs me for months.

Taking on influences such as Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley within your music, how would you describe your sound?

Somewhere between Nirvana, Buckley, and Radiohead, maybe a little Velvet Underground in there as well I don’t know what genre that is.

From the title track 'The Storm' to the sombre 'This Town'. How would you describe the emotions and themes of the EP, and what was the reason behind the decision of exploring them?

The EP has a few emotions in its anger, frustration, love, regret it’s that time of your life when you’re not sure what you’re supposed to do next.

Out of the four tracks, what is your favourite and why?

'This Town' was the one I wrote first, and it felt like a turning point in my writing. When I felt, I could start getting other people involved in playing.

Being only 21-year-olds and new to the UK music scene, how did your music career kick-off and what influenced you to release music now?

I just wrote songs I’ve always loved that, and I’ve met people along the way who’ve helped me out getting to where I am now. Well, it had to come out at some point I’d been sitting on them for a long time.

Looking back at your musical experiences, from school choirs to a circuit of gigs across college, have you always wanted to be a singer-songwriter, and what have you learnt over these times as a rising artist?

I wouldn’t describe myself as a singer-songwriter. I get it, and I like the acoustic moment, but I want to make more noise than that. I like being with the band.

Speaking of what you've learnt, how would you personally describe your musical journey and what has been your highest and lowest moment so far?

Signing the deals was a pretty big moment and playing some shows after the lockdown was a great feeling. But the lockdown was pretty shit, not being able to play or get to the studio at all.

In other news, you have a set of live shows and festivals lined up. How excited are you to perform your music live, and what can fans expect?

Looking forward to that a lot; I expect we’ll play the ep plus some of the new stuff I’ve been working on.

Finally, with already looking ahead at future projects, what is in line for George O'Hanlon, and where do you see yourself in five years?

I’ll just be doing what I’m doing now hopefully, just in front of a lot more people.